the Scullery Maid
by Wonderland22
Summary: a young girl trying to hold her family together through tough times. no good at summeries, my first fic, all my own characters and plot. some names of animals have been used from other films though.
1. Chapter 1

The scullery maid.

In the year 1840 in the town of Wiester a small girl of the age of 14 lived with her parents and six younger brothers and sisters.

Her name is Esmerelda Baker. The second eldest was Simon at 12 years old, then Joe at 10, twins Samuel and Jeremy at 8, then little sister Lilian at 4, and baby Isabella.

They used to live out on a farm with horses and cattle, but they had to move into town because times were hard and they couldn't afford to feed the children and the animals.

One night Esmerelda could not sleep and went to get a glass of milk, as she neared the door to the kitchen she heard voices, they were her parents. They were talking about money or the lack of it. They decided if they could not afford the children then they would send some to the work house.

Esmerelda snuck back to her bed and decided to go out and get a job to help keep her family together.

The next day she went out to the rich end of town and got herself a job as a scullery maid.

For the next two years she worked hard and held her family together, one day her master and mistress threw the annual Christmas ball and Esmerelda was to assist as a waitress.

Prople came from every where to attend the ball, there was ladies dressed in beautiful gowns and lords dressed in hansom suits.

Esmerelda's pov.

As I was walking to the kitchen with the dinner dishes a well dressed man rounded the corner I was walking past and we ran into each other and fell on the ground.

"please forgive me sir" I said collecting the dishes.

"no, it was my fault miss" he said helping me.

"sir why are you helping me sir? I am just a scullery maid" I asked.

"scullery maid you say, you know we need a new scullery maid!" he said

He grabbed the dishes out of my hands and shoved them aside.

He grabbed my arm and pulled me up,

"would you like to come and work for me? Ill double your wage" he said

"where do you live sir?" I asked

"I live out near Pandora" he said

"im sorry sir but that would be to far for me to walk" I said.

" nonsense girl, you would have your own quarters" he said.

"how would I get into town to see my family? My siblings wellbeing depends on the money I get" I explained.

"you could borrow a horse until you get your own" he said


	2. Chapter 2 a new job

After telling my 'former' master I resign I went home, told the family of the change of boss and location, I packed my belongings and left with my new boss.

After a long ride we arrived at a huge house with a long drive, as I was getting out I heard a lady yelling around the back of the house. The master must have been curious as well as he ushered me around the house. The lady was yelling about that patchy horse and it's broken coloured and will never be in her stable.

The thing that shocked me was when she said to send in to the slaughter house. I turned to the master about to tell him this was to be how things were ran id leave but when he looked at me he smiled.

"you said you needed a horse, so why don't you pay her three pennies, that's all the slaughter house pays" he whispered to me.

I walked up to the lady and we made a deal I gave her three pennies and the master showed me a small paddock next to my quarters where I could keep her.

The quarters I was given were huge, five bedrooms and two bathrooms, it was as big as my parents house.

i worked there for two years barley seeing my family saving up my money, the patchy mare I bought from the mistress was put out with the masters stallion and now had a little filie, she was black as coal like her father.

I rode into town on one of the masters horses and went home to see my family, I arrived and tied the horse up. I knocked on the door and my father opened it.

He quickly ushered me in

"where's the money?" he demanded.

Taken back by his outburst I took a look around, the house was in better shape but was very quiet. Too quiet.

"wheres the kids?" I asked

Father looked like he was thinking hard then said they had gone down the shops with my mother.

That idea went down the drain when my mother walked in the door alone.

"where are the kids" I asked.

"at the work house, we couldn't afford them all" my mother said.

I raced out the door and jumped on the horse, we cantered down the road to the work house and raced in.


	3. Chapter 3 finding family

I ran up to the desk.

"hello, there was a group of kids brought here the other day, im here to pick them up." I said.

"hey, im new here so I have no idea who your talking about." The girl at the desk said.

"can I just go look then?" I asked.

"yeah sure" she said.

I entered the room and looked around, I spotted them sitting in the far corner.

I quickly walked up to them, when they saw me they jumped up and hugged me. I was introduced to baby lucas.

I gathered them all up and we left.

"where are we going? Joe asked

"first we are going to the stock exchange market and then the clothing shop, then the furniture shop, then buy some food and then we are going home." I explained.

"Ok, how are we getting there?" Samuel asked.

" Lillian and Isabella can ride the horse, and the rest of us can walk." I said

"you have a horse?" simon asked.

"I have a mare and a foal at home but ive borrowed one of the masters gelding's" I said.

Simon helped Lillian and Isibella on to the horse and led the horse to the stock market.

We arrived and tied the horse up, I gave Simon and Joe some money and they went off together. Samuel and Jeremy were given money and they went looking aswell. I went walking around with Lillian, Isabella and baby Lucas.

In the end we brought a large wagon six Clydesdales, a small white pony called mary legs, a reddy/brown mare called ginger for Joe, a black gelding for Simon, two brown mares for Samuel and Jeremy.

We got the masters horse and returned to town with all the new horses tied to the back of the wagon. We went to the clothing shop and had all the kids fitted for clothes, then we went and got furniture like beds and cupboards they were all loaded onto the wagon.

Next we fitted the horses for tack then bought food.

On the way to my place we stopped at the real estate and found out the big paddock across the road from my masters house was for sale, I purchased it quick.

Then we went home.


	4. Chapter 4 beginning of a new life

We stopped at the paddock I'd just bought and dropped off all the riding horses, we took the wagon up to my house and the kids began un-packing while I took Lucas and Isabella up to the house to explain the situation.

The master and mistress were happy to allow the kids to stay on the condition the boys helped out around the farm and the mistress wanted to school the girls.

After everything was sorted we all settled into life of work and school.

After three months we all went into town and bought heaps of building materials and worked on weekends and days off to build on the paddock.

Over the next 9 months we built a large shed to put wagons and carriages in, a tack shed, a stable, a barn, and a chook pen.

On a Sunday afternoon we drove to the stock exchange market and bought 12 egg laying chooks and a rooster, two poddy calves and a golden retriever puppy.

My patchy mare and foal were now ready to be sepperated and the foal began training with the master. Simon and Joe had spent some of their time over the last year working with the horses making them all rideable and Samuel and Jeremy were working for the master around the farm.

Lillian and Isabella were progressing in their lessions well and were on there way to being little ladies.


	5. Chapter 5 baby and the beating

ONE YEAR LATER.

Simon and Joe had all the horses broken in and trained for the show.

The patchy mare (named patch{very original}) was ready to do Dressarge, her foal (named fallen angel) was ready to race, ginger was a hunter, Simons black gelding (named jack) was a jumper.

After sending of the paper and entry fee off we advertised for jockys in the paper and found plenty of jockys willing to ride.

A week before the races began we got up early in the morning and loaded the horses and tack and set off to the track, the journey took us three days leaving us a few days to settle in and get the horses used to the atmosphere of the track.

Samuel and Jeremy did not come with us, they went with an older farm hand to go digging for gold.

When we got to the track we settled the horses in to their stalls and took the Clydesdales out to the paddock with the other wagon pulling horses. After a few days people were shouting around the back in the paddock, we raced around to see my masters stallion mounting the wagon pulling horses, including mine.

Fallen Angle won gold and two silvers, jack got a silver, ginger got two silvers, and my masters stallion got three golds and a silver.

Then we went home.

After settling the horses down in the paddock I harnessed the masters gelding to one of his small carriges and drove into town, leaving the kids at the house with the mistress.

I drove to my parents house and tied up the horse and went into the house. I found my mother in the sitting room and found out that they had' had another baby and it was locked in a room upstairs. I excused my self and ran up stairs found the baby and left.

I decided to call her christophine, we went to the clothes shop and bought her stuff and food. Then we went to the work house out of curiosity, a lady walked up and tried to take christophine away.

"what the blazing hell are you doing?" I demanded backing away.

"you're here to drop the baby off?" she asked.

"no im just here to look" I said, the girl then walked away.

I walked in and looked around at all the poor kids wishing I could take them all home, I reached the other side of the room and opened the door and looked in and gasped. There was a young boy about five years old being whipped.

The person doing the whipping heard me gasp and hurried to me,

"miss you cant be in here" he said ushering me out.

"I want that boy!" I blurted out. He thought about it for a few moments and agreed.

I grabbed the boy by the arm and pulled him out of the room and out of the work house, I drove him to the Dr's where the Dr treated him and covered the wound. I then took the boy home, as we went home I told him about my family and he told my he was five and called Charlie. When we got home I parked the wagon in the shed and put the horse in the paddock, we then walked up to our house and introduced to the family and welcomed with open arms.


	6. Chapter 6 the storm

Thanks to everyone for reading, this story is all my own I dreamt it and decided to put it onto paper.

ONE YEAR LATER.

The Clydesdale mares all had healthy foals thanks to the masters stallion, four fillys and two colts. The colts were to be gelded when they get old enough.

Over the next year were the races were run and all my familys horses and the masters horses did very well.

One Autumn day after Simon, Joe, Charlie and I finished work and the girls finished lessons we loaded into the Carriage and Joe drove us into town.

We stopped by the general store to do the shopping and as we were leaving a large carriage pulled by eight black horses pulled in, out hopped non other than Samuel and Jeremy.

They looked really good, wearing fancy suits. They must of found gold, lots of it.

They didn't even see us as they passed.

As we were driving to the stock exchange market I asked the kids what they thought of selling up and chasing gold, they said they would go if I did, they wanted to stay together as a family.

At the market I bought eight huge buffalo and a buffalo wagon, we tied the leaders to the back of the carriage and headed home.

When we got back to our paddock we parked the carriage and wagon in the shed and turned the cattle and horses loose.

We walked up the drive to my house and settled in for the night when a storm hit.

I woke up to horses screaming in the night and loud thunder. I woke Simon, Joe, Lillian, Charlie and Isabella. I told Lillian and Isabella to stay with Charlie, Lucas and Christophine.

Simon, Joe and I raced over to the paddock and rounded up the cattle and horses, we dryed the horses and put blankets on them all and put them in the stables, the cattle were dryed and put in the barn. Joe and Simon decided to stay the night in the barn to keep an eye on the cattle.

I started heading back to the house when I heard a carriage coming down the road, I pulled the horses up when I saw that no one was driving. I checked the inside of the carriage but it was empty.

I walked the horses up to the house and turned the horses loose in the small paddock. I harnessed up the gelding to the small cart and went driving down the road.

I found Samuel and Jeremy a few miles down the road walking for home, I took them home and they showered and had a bit to eat.


End file.
